Cherry soda not carbonating

**sweetsdream** · 06-04-2011, 03:03 PM

My kids wanted to make some cherry soda so I bought some cherry syrup at the brew store while picking up other stuff. We mixed a one gallon batch, pitched the yeast then immediately bottled it in PET bottles I had laying around. I make wine, ciders and meads all year so I understand the process pretty well and I've been squeezing the bottles every six to eight hours and they aren't as hard as I would like. We opened one and poured it over ice and there wasn't much carbonation. Should we have waited for some fermentation before bottling? Today will be the fourth day, are we just impatient?

WillKirk · 06-05-2011, 02:16 AM

I'm still pretty new to brewing anything, but perhaps you didn't pitch enough yeast? Maybe you need to make a starter for it to kick it into gear

**Yooper** · 06-05-2011, 02:46 AM

It should be carbed up in a day or two. Did the cherry extract have preservatives or anything like that in it?

**sweetsdream** · 06-05-2011, 01:32 PM

It’ s Rainbow Flavors extract for making homemade soda and I followed the directions in the box. I opened another and there is some carbonation, just not what it should be. I'm used to my meads and ciders getting carbonated quickly but of course the yeast is already suspended and I'm just feeding it more sugars. Maybe I'll try a starter for the next batch.

**Yooper** · 06-05-2011, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetsdream

It’ s Rainbow Flavors extract for making homemade soda and I followed the directions in the box. I opened another and there is some carbonation, just not what it should be. I'm used to my meads and ciders getting carbonated quickly but of course the yeast is already suspended and I'm just feeding it more sugars. Maybe I'll try a starter for the next batch.

You won't need a starter- I only use about 1/3 package (champagne yeast) for my sodas. Some carb up FAST- like ginger ale. Some are slower, like root beer. Just keep it some place warm, and if it's carbing up even slowly, it's working. It's hard to wait, though!

sodamancer · 07-29-2011, 03:26 PM

my experience with rainbow's soda extracts is that different flavors carb up at different intervals.
if you followed the directions, and added 1/8 tsp of yeast when the mix was between 80-100 degrees, it should take 2.5ish days to carbonate(more or less depending on temperature). during the summer I've had it carb up in as little as 36 hours.